Napa Wildfires Force Evacuation of Safeway Venue

Only hours after Brendan Steele completed his successful defense at the Safeway Open, the host venue, the Silverado Resort and Spa, was forced to evacuate by emergency responders as a result of wildfires closing in on the Napa area.

Unseasonably high winds made for a difficult final round of the Safeway, but those winds combined with dry weather conditions to enable the spread of devastating wildfires that as of Wednesday morning had scorched more than 122,000 acres and claimed the lives of 17 people in Northern California, according to CNN.

GolfChannel.com’s Will Gray had more information on the wildfire’s impact on the Tour stop.

Massive forest fires led to an evacuation at Silverado Resort and Spa just hours after the conclusion of the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open.

Brendan Steele successfully defended his title on the resort’s North Course during a final round that saw unseasonably high winds buffet players throughout the afternoon. Once darkness fell, those same winds helped multiple fires spread across the Napa Valley area in northern California, with some flames edging close to the resort.

Several players were still staying on site and were evacuated in the middle of the night, including Patton Kizzire, Kyle Thompson, and Maverick McNealy.

“We were in our room and could hear the wind ripping,” Thompson told GOLF.com. “Also faintly smelled smoke, the power flickered and I heard some yelling outside the room so I went to check. I saw the entire horizon of the mountains on fire and the wind was pumping from that direction.

“I sprinted back to the room,” Thompson continued, “and grabbed my 1-year-old from his crib.”

Thompson was still in the area Monday afternoon, wondering whether to fly home or if there was hope of collecting the possessions that he had left in his room upon evacuation.

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest goings-on in the world of golf by following the SwingxSwing Clubhouse on social media. We share stories, stats and breaking news on Twitter, keep the fun going off the course on Instagram and share any and all golf-related topics on Facebook.